The Last Time
by On-A-Rainy-Day
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione's last Christmas at Hogwarts. Hermione's thoughts lead her to a conclusion she never expected. You are warned, its fluffy. Please R&R!


Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
It was Christmas Eve of her last year at Hogwarts. Hermione was amazed she'd even made it this far. There had been so many close calls; so many times she'd thought it was over. She just thought to herself, 'Hell, I'm going to die sooner or later. Might as well give it what I've got.' Those thoughts had always come before following Harry on some 'adventure'. Sometimes more blindly than others. Yes, it was miraculous that they'd made it this far.  
  
Hermione and her three best friends were all staying at the castle for Christmas. Harry because-well, where else would he go? But she, Ron, and Ginny had somewhere to go. Hermione cherished every moment she spent with her family. She was, after all, a muggle-born. She and her family were part of the two groups most hated by Voldemort.  
But they could never leave Harry. Not when he had no one else. Not on Christmas.  
  
It was with all of this in mind that Hermione left the peacefulness of her empty dorm for the common room.  
  
She easily spotted her friends in the common room. True, more people than ever before had stayed for the holidays. Many of them, like Harry, had nothing to go home to. But, even so, only two people in the castle had the flaming red hair that marked a Weasley. They and Harry were sitting in armchairs by the fire, with Ron impatiently checking his watch every five seconds. Suddenly, as if he felt her gaze on him, he looked up and shouted, "Oy!! Hermione! Could you be any slower about it? Some of us would like to get to the Great Hall before all of the food is gone!"  
  
Hermione started, realizing she had been on the same stair for the past minute or so. "Speak to me like that, Ronald Weasley, and I may take another hour to come down. " Hermione shouted back, moving down, but going as slowly as possible.  
  
"Oh no you won't!" Ron grumbled back, climbing out of the armchair he'd been waiting in.  
  
"Um.if you two don't mind we're going to go ahead and go down," Harry started, grabbing Ginny's hand.  
  
"No, don't go," Ron called over his shoulder, a sly grin stretching across his face. "You'll want to see this."  
  
Harry and Ginny stopped, but so did Hermione. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what he was planning. "What are you doing?" she asked accusingly.  
  
Ron didn't answer, but walked up to the bottom of the staircase Hermione was still standing on. He stopped just short of the bottom stair. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do.  
  
"Ron!" she said, drawing her wand! "Don't you--"  
  
"Too late!" he interrupted, stepping on the bottom stair.  
  
The stairs immediately turned into a slide. Ron slid harmlessly down about a foot to the bottom. Hermione on the other hand, lost her balance, fell on her bum, dropped her wand, and rolled the rest of the way to the bottom of the stairs.  
  
By the time she'd straightened herself out and found her wand, harry, Ron, and Ginny were doubled over laughing.  
  
"Very funny." She sniffed, and walked past them out the portrait hole.  
  
The others followed right behind Hermione. When they fell into step next to her, she saw that Ron still had tears streaming from laughing so hard.  
  
"Some people laugh at the simplest things." She said haughtily. "Ginny! How can you laugh at me like that!?" She asked, glaring at Ginny. But she wasn't really mad. It was always hard for her to stay mad at Ginny when she gave Harry so much happiness.  
  
"You have to admit, it was pretty funny. You just went flying!"  
  
The smile Hermione had been holding back burst through, and Hermione laughed with the others as they made their way to the great hall.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Hermione found it hard to concentrate on anything that night. She just kept looking around, thinking, after this year, I may never see this place again. Christmas had always been Hermione's favorite time at Hogwarts. This would be the last time she saw it looking so perfect. For it did look perfect to her. With the giant Christmas trees and snow falling from the ceiling just to evaporate right above everyone's heads.  
  
And everyone was so happy at Christmas time. Even the few Slytherins that remained looked happier than usual. Hermione gazed up at Professor Dumbledore, who was wearing a hot pink, and at Hagrid who was wearing a sunbonnet and realized with a jolt that she may never see these people again. Not only because it was her last year, but also because.well, because of the deatheaters.  
  
Suddenly, tears filled behind Hermione's eyes. She rushed out of the hall, leaving behind a bewildered Harry.  
  
"What's wrong with asking to pass the butter?" he asked no one in particular.  
  
Hermione had run outside into the snow-covered grounds. The grounds were beautiful and silent, and the crescent moon was already out. She crunched through the snow, not even feeling the cold, even though she'd forgotten her cloak.  
  
She found a bench and sat down right on top of about three inches of snow. She stared out at the frozen lake and let her tears fall. Oddly enough, she now found herself thinking about the Giant Squid. Where did he go during the winter months when the lake was frozen?  
  
Hermione heard crunching behind her. She had expected this, and wasn't at all surprised when she found Ron sitting next to her. They sat for a few moments in silence, staring out at the lake.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"Yeah, Mione?"  
  
"Where does the giant squid go?"  
  
"The squid?" he asked, still staring at the lake.  
  
"Yeah. Where does the squid go?"  
  
Ron now turned to face her. "You know, Mione, I don't know." He turned to the lake once again. "Hangs out with the Merpeople, I suppose."  
  
They sat in silence once again. Eventually, without either Ron or Hermione noticing, Ron's arm found it's place on her waist, and her head rested on his shoulder.  
  
"Ron?" she asked once again.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How did we get here?"  
  
"Oh!" he shifted uncomfortably, but didn't remove his arm. "I.er.Guess I didn't think you'd mind---"  
  
She sighed. "Not here. Here!" she interrupted. "How in the world did we make it to our seventh year?"  
  
"I dunno. I've thought it was over so many times. I never thought I'd have to worry about my NEWTS! But we're here." He paused, pondering the question. "It's because of Harry."  
  
"What? Harry?" She looked up to see if he was joking, but he looked serious.  
  
"Harry needs us." Ron stated simply.  
  
"He needed Sirius! He needed his mother and father! What about them?" she asked softly.  
  
"Harry keeps us going. I know I've been looking out for anything strange since my first year. And in a way," he studied the stars. "I think we keep him going in just the same way."  
  
Hermione searched the stars. Where was he getting this? She wondered. Harry Potter needed a muggle-born's help?  
  
The wind blew, and she moved closer to Ron, slipping her arm under his cloak. 'Yeah. He needs us. That makes sense', she thought.  
  
"And I need you." She whispered. He hadn't really intended Ron to hear her. But she could tell by the way he tensed, and then relaxed and pulled her closer yet, that he heard her.  
  
And she was happy that he had.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Please, please, please review!! 


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